Selling Myself (No, not like that.)
For my first project at University this year, I did a module that focused on the regularly references '12 principles of animation'. I'd known a little about these before, but not to the extent of being able to recite them off by heart or anything (even though now I probably could). There wasn't any huge final animation or essay to close out this module, just a few little animations to show that I'd gained knowledge in some basic principles/software.
Though, I wasn't content on letting this first module just lay by the wayside and being content with some funny walk cycles and wavy backgrounds I'd never use again. I wanted to use this opportunity to start thinking about my personal branding, or even go as far as to think about what I'd name a potential studio of my own!
As you can see by the header on this page, I go by Zanzibar, which depending on your upbringing is either an archipelago in East Africa or a multi-player map in Halo 2. My reasons for choosing this name were slightly more personal though. When me and my brother were very young, we would often make what would be known today as 'AU's, or Alternate Universes to create fiction from. My brother was trying to write a book set in a Hitchhikers Guide-esque world, and for some reason picked the name 'Zanzibar' for his protagonist. From then on the name just sort of stuck with me, even after learning it was a real place.
Though, I wasn't content on letting this first module just lay by the wayside and being content with some funny walk cycles and wavy backgrounds I'd never use again. I wanted to use this opportunity to start thinking about my personal branding, or even go as far as to think about what I'd name a potential studio of my own!
As you can see by the header on this page, I go by Zanzibar, which depending on your upbringing is either an archipelago in East Africa or a multi-player map in Halo 2. My reasons for choosing this name were slightly more personal though. When me and my brother were very young, we would often make what would be known today as 'AU's, or Alternate Universes to create fiction from. My brother was trying to write a book set in a Hitchhikers Guide-esque world, and for some reason picked the name 'Zanzibar' for his protagonist. From then on the name just sort of stuck with me, even after learning it was a real place.
Since then, it has been my alias across all of the web, and luckily for me, it doesn't appear to be a name which is commonly used as aliases or user names. And it's not just a functional alias either. I believe that 'Zanzibar' as a word, even just in it's structure, reflects the sort of work I'm looking to create very nicely. It sounds exotic and unusual, and has that syllabic bounce when you say it that would make it a memorable brand name in itself. Personally, I also find it to be a very *fun* word to say, and fun is at the core of everything I do.
But that's just one name, the name for me, the name that I wouldn't feel uncomfortable going by even by people I knew. What's more important, is the physical work I created for my first project, an animatic for my (hopefully) future studio, Foxtail Soup.
Foxtail Soup doesn't quite have the same childhood tale and emotional significance that Zanzibar does, but that doesn't mean I feel any less passionate about the name. This name was specifically designed, if anything, to fit something I've always wanted to animate. My favourite animal, the fox, and more specifically, a foxes' tail.
Having learned the principles of inertia and follow through earlier in the project, the sudden thought that I'd be more well equipped to finally tackling this fluffy task. In branding terms, I think the physical image of a fluffy tail regardless of what animal it's attached to is one that's going to have a strong sense of appeal to pretty much everyone, especially when made to move in a realistic or cartoony manner. I knew I wanted to do this but hadn't come up with a name yet, and I didn't want to animate a whole fox because that's hardly a logo...
Which is where the idea of Foxtail Soup comes in. Foxtail Soup, as seen here with this stout black cauldron and the titular tail poking out, came from not wanting to animate a whole animal but also wanting to still have that tail motion. When trying to problem solve that, the idea of a foxtail coming out of something, like water, a bush, or a cauldron. The cauldron idea I liked since there's also a lot of other opportunities for animation there, the fire underneath it, bubbling slime, floating ingredients, etc.
I can't remember off the top of my head where the name came from, but the spin on 'Oxtail' to 'Foxtail' to make 'Foxtail Soup' is one I'm really pleased with, and one I think rolls off the tongue nicely with it's own niche name and design that won't get lost among others, while being easy to recognise.
But that's just one name, the name for me, the name that I wouldn't feel uncomfortable going by even by people I knew. What's more important, is the physical work I created for my first project, an animatic for my (hopefully) future studio, Foxtail Soup.
Foxtail Soup doesn't quite have the same childhood tale and emotional significance that Zanzibar does, but that doesn't mean I feel any less passionate about the name. This name was specifically designed, if anything, to fit something I've always wanted to animate. My favourite animal, the fox, and more specifically, a foxes' tail.
Having learned the principles of inertia and follow through earlier in the project, the sudden thought that I'd be more well equipped to finally tackling this fluffy task. In branding terms, I think the physical image of a fluffy tail regardless of what animal it's attached to is one that's going to have a strong sense of appeal to pretty much everyone, especially when made to move in a realistic or cartoony manner. I knew I wanted to do this but hadn't come up with a name yet, and I didn't want to animate a whole fox because that's hardly a logo...
Which is where the idea of Foxtail Soup comes in. Foxtail Soup, as seen here with this stout black cauldron and the titular tail poking out, came from not wanting to animate a whole animal but also wanting to still have that tail motion. When trying to problem solve that, the idea of a foxtail coming out of something, like water, a bush, or a cauldron. The cauldron idea I liked since there's also a lot of other opportunities for animation there, the fire underneath it, bubbling slime, floating ingredients, etc.
I can't remember off the top of my head where the name came from, but the spin on 'Oxtail' to 'Foxtail' to make 'Foxtail Soup' is one I'm really pleased with, and one I think rolls off the tongue nicely with it's own niche name and design that won't get lost among others, while being easy to recognise.
These were just illustrations, which I then made an animatic from. The visualisation for me was to make a studio ident, much like the ones seen before films, that would show the name of my studio and have an accompanying animation and logo to help advertise.
There's an exclusively 3D project coming up soon which I hope I can explore a 3D logo, or even animate a 3D animatic/rough for another attempt at an ident.
I would love Foxtail Soup to be the banner that I published my work under, but I'm still developing it.
Until then, I've been Zanzibar, and thank you for reading <3
I would love Foxtail Soup to be the banner that I published my work under, but I'm still developing it.
Until then, I've been Zanzibar, and thank you for reading <3
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